Switching devices for high voltages or high current intensities are usually in the form of mechanical switches in which two contacts are isolated from one another by moving at least one contact with generation of a spark or an arc. This requires the design and construction of a switch drive and also energy stores, catches and controllers for the drive and arc-resistant switching contacts.
The structural outlay for such switches can, in principle, be considerably reduced by using semiconductors. Semiconductors are also used in controllers in which it is not only important to switch a current on and off but also to control an electrical variable, rectify an alternating current or switch a current on and off in a very rapid and controlled manner.
However, the use of power semiconductors in high power ranges is demanding on account of the limited dielectric strength and current-carrying strength.
A high loading capacity is achieved, in a known manner, by using pressure-contact designs in the form of disk-type thyristors (presspack, hockey puck). This is known, for example, for thyristors and diodes. In this case, a semiconductor element is respectively installed in a housing having terminal contacts on both sides. In the event of an overload, an explosive plasma that can destroy the housing and pass to the outside forms in the interior of the housing, starting from the semiconductor element, on account of the high current density.
The design in pressure-contact housings is also known for IGBTs (IGBT=Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor). However, the MOS structures (MOS=Metal Oxide Semiconductor) on the top side of the chip of IGBTs give rise to technological disadvantages. The production methods for IGBTs in pressure-contact housings are thus complicated.